


how the music can free her whenever it starts (and it's magic)

by theformerone



Series: MultiSaku Month 2018 [2]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fusion, Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-02
Updated: 2018-06-02
Packaged: 2019-05-17 11:00:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,113
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14831033
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theformerone/pseuds/theformerone
Summary: Yule Ball doesn't go the way Sakura expects it to.MultiSaku Month Day 2: InoSaku





	how the music can free her whenever it starts (and it's magic)

**Author's Note:**

> title lifted from The Lovin' Spoonful's 'Do You Believe in Magic'

Sakura doesn't have a date to Yule Ball. And it's fine. At least, that's what she keeps telling everyone. 

Between keeping Naruto alive during the Triwizard Tournament to making sure Sasuke doesn't  _actually_ set that stunning Haku person from Beauxbatons on fire for looking at Naruto, she's kind of had a lot to deal with. 

She doesn't even have a dress, not really. She has some nice things that she could probably transfigure into a gown of some sort, but that would take too much work, and brain power that Sakura is sorely lacking at the moment. She's exhausted. 

The tournament didn't mean that classes had just suddenly stopped, despite the way that Naruto was behaving. And while Sakura was eternally grateful for the fact that Professor Senju's healing classes had helped Sakura stabilize Naruto after the situation with the kitsune in the Forest of Death (and fucking Sasuke when his stasis charm winked out when he was in the Lake and Naruto dragged him from the grindylows grasp, sobbing because he thought Sasuke was dead. Honestly, they needed more healers on staff. Sakura was still a student, and even though she won fifty house points to Hufflepuff for  _snatching Sasuke out of the jaws of death_ , she really wasn't qualified), Professor Senju's homework load was legendary for its difficulty. 

So when Sakura hasn't been busy narrowly avoiding her bullies or saving the lives of her best (read: idiot) friends, she's been making sure she's passing her classes with top marks so that when she applies to be a Hit Witch with a specialization in combat healing, she'll get the damn job. 

Which means she hasn't had time to find a date for Yule Ball. Which makes her a loser. 

Because Naruto is the Hogwarts Champion. Or, he's one of them. Hinata's name was the one that was pulled out of the Goblet first, and she was doing her level best all things considered. Nobody thought she had it in her to even put her name in for consideration. But when she stood up before her name was called, the hairs on the back of Sakura's neck had stood up. The Hyūga were a long line of oracles, and it was clear that Hinata had something to prove to her pureblood family. 

And  _she_ had a date to Yule Ball. Unlike Sakura. 

Even Naruto  _and_ Sasuke managed to get dates, despite the absolute mortification that came with realizing that they were each other's 'precious people' as per the second task's parameters. And yeah, Sasuke was going with Karin because he told her he would when the damn tournament began, and maybe Naruto was going with Sai's weird ass because he was just bold enough to ask Naruto  _immediately_ after saying something rude about the size of his dick. 

Sakura was left in the dust. She didn't even know if she wanted to go. She kind of just - She hadn't really thought about it. And now it's the night of the Yule Ball, and she's in the library trying to start a research paper on speculative theories about how the tenketsu system came to be so tightly bound to the respiratory system in certain pureblood families, giving rise to the corvustongued, fire breathing Uchiha.

Honestly, it was a miracle Senju even let Sakura use the topic considering Sasuke was one of her closest friends. It had given her an in with the Uchiha; Mikoto was a breathlessly stunning woman who led the family quietly behind her husband's performative iron fist. And she made really,  _really_ good scones. And she liked Sakura, which meant Sakura could have access to the family history tomes of the Uchiha, all the way back to Uchiha Madara, himself.

She's just about to scribble down something along the lines of the contract Madara made with the crows, a magical contract which literally altered the DNA of his descendants thereafter, when a slim wand taps on the parchment beneath her quill. 

Sakura's eyes snap up. It isn't a threatening gesture, but it wasn't a benign one either. You didn't just put your wand in someone's face like that unless you wanted a fight. Sakura's own wand is tucked into her sleeve, but the offending instrument on her paper could fire off six curses before she could even get her own wand in her hand. 

She could always throw a punch. That tended to throw most off their guard. Sakura was muggleborn, and it was an advantage when it came to dueling. She had knocked more blood purists on their asses with her fists than with her wand in DADA. Kakashi always gave her full marks for her 'inventive fighting style'. He'd made her his TA, too, insisting that modern witches and wizards needed to be able to fight wandless and without magic if they wanted to survive the coming war. The war that no one was really supposed to be talking about.

Sakura's got what Senju calls a 'natural aptitude' for wandless magic. Especially when she fights with her fists. Sakura discovered this entirely by accident the summer before the school year started, when Naruto had survived a  _seventh_ attempted kidnapping when he was visiting Sakura. She had been backed into a corner by Akatsuki members, Naruto bleeding just behind her, so she did the only thing her mind could tell her to do. 

She punched the ground. 

Her magic sung a strange song to her, thrumming in her fingers, making a crater so large that Ministry officials were still erasing muggle memories of it afterward.  _That_ and her incredible intelligence was why Senju had let her into her healing classes. 

And now, Sakura can feel her magic twitch again inside of her at the threat. But when she closes the fingers on her left hand into a fist, she finds that she can't follow through. 

Yamanaka Ino is looking down at her, looking as unfairly stunning as she always does. 

After that first  _incident_ several months ago, Sakura's been studying with Ino. Her marks in Divination have gone up, and Ino's wand work in Charms has received special praise from Professor Umino. 

They aren't  _friends_ per se, but they are acquaintances. They talk to each other every once in a while. Wave at each other in the hallway. They actually talk a lot more than Sakura expected them to. Sometimes they had meals together, or studied in each other's common rooms even though it was against the rules. Sasuke liked to ask her if she and the blonde were attached at the hip. Sakura would cut her eyes to Naruto, then back to Sasuke, and ask him if he really thought that joke was as funny as he thought it was. Sakura's bullies bother her much less now, which is nice. She already has the Uchiha and the Uzumaki on her side. Having a clan heir like the Yamanaka as a study buddy only increases Sakura's street cred.

And also that time she used wandless magic outside Hogwarts grounds and didn't get thrown in prison because of it. 

"You realize there's a party going on tonight," Ino asks, drawing her wand back to herself, "right?"

Sakura snorts and scratches the side of her head. 

"You realize I have a paper due on Monday, right?"

Ino rolls her eyes, and waves her wand. She's unnervingly good at unspoken magic, hardly needs to call out the name of her spell before it begins its work. Sakura's parchment and her books all slip into the air just above her head, and organize themselves as they hang in the air. 

"I'm not letting you sit in the library on the night of Yule Ball like some kind of tragic peasant."

Sakura barely lifts an eyebrow, by now well accustomed to Ino's particular brand of snide. 

"I don't want to go."

Ino scoffs, and the library books Sakura was reading assort themselves onto a nice pile, while Sakura's notes slip inside of her bag, along with the Uchiha family histories. 

"That's what everyone who doesn't have a date says."

Sakura puts her elbow on the table, and cups her chin in her hand. 

"So where's your date?"

Ino slips her wand into the bodice of her dark purple gown. There are no frills, or any excessive fabric; Ino's gown is straight, dark purple, with shoulder less sleeves that are just as severe. The only thing soft about her outfit is the bush clover of her family crest, hanging on a fine black chain around her throat. 

"I don't need a date," Ino says, arching an eyebrow. "I'm a Yamanaka."

"And I'm a Haruno," Sakura quips. "And I need to study."

She goes to grab her bag, but Ino snatches it out of her reach.

"Are you serious?"

"Come on, Sakura," Ino says, "when was the last time you actually had fun instead of making craters or doing homework?"

Sakura opens her mouth, then closes it again. 

"I have fun," she says, sheepishly. 

But not lately. Lately, she's been stressed, and she knows it's beginning to show. Her schoolwork will be the last thing to suffer, and so will Naruto and Sasuke. But she hasn't been sleeping very well, her dreams plagued with the red clouded cloaks of the men who attacked Naruto, and there are things in the stories about Uchiha Madara that make her stare at the moon with a mix of longing and apprehension. 

There is something very strange going on in the world around her. It's something she wants to understand, _needs_ to understand, but doesn't know why exactly. 

"Come with me," Ino says. "Stay for a dance. For some punch. The Demon Brothers are playing."

Sakura purses her lips. Ino waggles her eyebrows. 

"I don't even have anything to wear," Sakura insists. 

Ino clucks her tongue at that, and walks around the table. When she offers her hand, Sakura reluctantly takes it, and Ino helps her stand. She tries not to feel uncomfortable under Ino's assessing gaze. When Ino spins her finger in a slow circle, Sakura purses her lips and turns. 

She isn't wearing much. A comfy pair of black sweatpants and a red tank top, all of it under her uniform cloak, which is absurdly comfortable all things considered. She had been wearing it as a blanket over her legs until Ino had arrived. 

"Not too bad," she murmurs. "I can work with this."

The Ravenclaw cracks her knuckles and tugs her wand out of the side of her dress. Sakura stares down at the ground, trying not to see the way the wood of her wand just barely pushes against Ino's breast, and tries not to feel like a  _pervert_ for staring. 

"Arms out," Ino instructs, "and keep spinning."

Sakura does as she's told, and she feels rather like Cinderella as she does. 

Magic courses from Ino's wand in a faint blue light the same color of her eyes. Ino's magic is softer than Sakura expected it to be. She's worked with it before, has been near it, but it's never touched her, never has altered something as intimate as her clothes. The magic even moves into her hair, tugging it out of its lazy ponytail and curling it up into the air. 

Sakura shuts her eyes to let the feeling wash over her, and wonders if Ino's hands are as soft as her magic. 

"Alright, Haruno," Ino says. "Open your eyes, and tell me what you think."

As Sakura opens her eyes, Ino clears her throat and looks away. She pulls out a compact from her little clutch and transfigures it into a full size mirror. Sakura - Sakura is shocked at what she sees. 

Her sweats have been transfigured into a terribly elegant looking pair of harem pants, overlaid with a startling pattern of bright red interlocking circles that crest over her right hip and flow down over both her thighs towards her left ankle. 

Her red tank top is a long sleeve now, with a square neckline, and her cloak is much more fashionable, all gauzy and transparent, with sleeves that wrap primly around her wrists and around her waist in a thick black line. Her hair has been pulled back into an artfully curled ponytail. Her black flats are the same, but they look almost three times as fashionable as they did before in her current get up. 

"Wow," she says, a little breathless. 

Ino smirks at the word, but there's a vague dusting of pink on her cheeks that makes Sakura a little self conscious. Does Ino think she looks good?

"My mother is a fashion designer," Ino says, "this look is all the rage in Uzushio."

Sakura nods as if that information means anything to her. She knows Naruto's mom is from Uzushio. Was, before she went into hiding. And he has a lot of cousins from there, too. 

Ino pulls a compact out of her purse, and pops a hand on Sakura's shoulder. 

"I'm not finished yet," she says. "Sit down."

Sakura does. And the fabric on her cloak is so thin now that she can tell for sure; Ino's hands are as soft as her magic. 

"Just some light coverage," Ino murmurs, dusting powder over Sakura's face. "You've got great skin, so you don't need much."

"Thanks," Sakura replies, trying not to sneeze. 

"Open your eyes, and look up."

Sakura obeys, and tries not to blink as Ino applies mascara, and eyeliner. Ino replaces the items in her clutch as quickly as she reveals them, and Sakura has to wonder whether or not there's a Bigger on the Inside charm on the damn thing. 

"Now lip gloss," Ino says. "Pucker your lips."

Sakura does it, and feels like a fish. Ino snorts at her as she unscrews the cap to her lip gloss. 

"Not like a carp," Ino chuckles. "Softer. Like this."

Ino puckers her lips, and looks nothing like a fish. Sakura is pretty sure she's turned beet red.

She wants to kiss Yamanaka Ino. Desperately.

The urge smacks her in the face, and by the grace of Morgana, she somehow manages to mimic the girl in front of her.

"That's it," Ino says, dabbing the shimmery pink gloss onto Sakura's lips. "Now smack your lips together. I'll make my compact a compact again, and then we can go."

Sakura nods dumbly as Ino rises, and sets to her task. She runs her hands down her front, over the elephant pants and her newly red blouse, and touches her cheek to where Ino's foundation has settled into her skin.

She looks at the back of Ino's neck, at the easy way she holds her wand, uses her magic. At how she literally puts Sakura's entire messenger into her tiny clutch, proving Sakura's earlier theory.

It hits Sakura then, that Ino said that she didn't 'need' a date, not that she didn't have one. 'Come with me,' Ino had said. And was that an invitation? To be her date? To the Yule Ball?

Sakura isn't a Gryffindor. She's not all reckless bravery, and she isn't the careful cunning type of Slytherin. She isn't even a Ravenclaw, using logic and reason to get her in and out of tricky situations. 

She's a Hufflepuff. Which means she's all of that, and she's so much more. 

"Am I your date?" she asks, voice soft and hesitant. 

Ino stills for a moment, then turns her head over her shoulder to look at Sakura. It's the first time Sakura has ever seen her look anything other than self assured and confident. Ino looks  _nervous_. 

"I mean," she begins. "I wanted you to come as my friend. I really like you, and I knew you weren't going to come out tonight because you're ridiculous, so I thought I'd ask you to come with me - ,"

"As a friend," Sakura asks. "Or as your date?"

Ino purses her lips, then squares her shoulders. She looks like she's being prepared for rejection. Sakura has no fucking idea what's happening. 

"As whatever you're the most comfortable with" Ino says.

Sakura swallows, and this time when she opens her mouth, she doesn't even have to think about being brave enough to say what she's thinking. 

"Ino," she says. "May I escort you to the Yule Ball?"

She has a split second to wonder if she's made the wrong decision, because Ino is very clearly hesitating. Decisive, ruthless Ino, who has hexed more people on Sakura's behalf than Naruto and Sasuke combined since they became friends earlier this year. Ino who tells Sakura exactly what she's doing wrong when they study Divination, Ino whose pale blue eyes are sharp and critical when Sakura demonstrates fine wand work. 

Sakura holds out her hand. Ino looks at her it, her own hands wrapped nervously around her clutch. Like she didn't plan this far ahead, like she didn't expect Sakura to see through her, to want what she wanted, too. 

"Or," Sakura says, cracking a smile. "You could escort me. I think that's what you'd prefer, since you're a Yamanaka and all."

Some color comes back to Ino's pale, nervous face, and she returns Sakura's smile with a cocky little grin of her own.

"Mark my words, Haruno," she says, carefully placing her hand in Sakura's. Her fingernails are painted a paler purple than her gown, and the color slowly changes to black to match Sakura's get up. "You're going to have the time of your life. The Yamanaka know how to have a good time."

With the kind of brass that would make even Naruto splutter in shock, Sakura tugs Ino close to her, so close their noses brush together and says, "I hope you're not all talk."

* * *

 

At the end of the night, Sakura will wonder whether or not she should kiss Ino as she walks her back to the Ravenclaw common room. She'll only half listen to Ino's polite good night, and she'll only really be able to focus on the way she looks in the evening light while other Ravenclaws move past them into their common room. 

She'll kiss her, and she'll taste the vanilla and shea of Ino's lip gloss on Ino's mouth and her own, and Ino will turn bright pink. And afterwards, Sakura will walk all the way back to her dorm, arms wrapped around herself as Ino's magic keeps her clothes transfigured until she's safely in her room. 

In the morning, when Naruto and Sasuke barge into her empty room underneath Naruto's invisibility cloak and will demand to know how she went from not having a date to Yule Ball to having a girlfriend in the same night.


End file.
